A. 100% of ALL funds raised will be given to the One Fund Boston. I am covering all of my own expenses (e.g. travel, web hosting, tee shirt printing, administration costs etc.) as well as also donating to the One Fund Boston charity. PayPal does kept $0.30 per transaction and 2.7% of the donation amount for processing the payment. Besides the PayPal fees, 100% will go to the One Fund Boston. If you mail a check, 100% will go to the One Fund Boston.

Q. Will I get a receipt for my donation for tax purposes?

A. Yes. If you give by PayPal, you will get a receipt from them. If you give by check, I will email you a receipt. My EIN for the donation is 46-3104683.

A. No, I have not participated in a marathon before. I was a very active long distance runner growing up and ran track and cross country before I found out about my heart problem when I was 12 years old and had to stop running. My parents have both run several marathons and I have stood at the finish line waiting to watch them finish race. That is where these bombings happened in Boston and I have been in similar places watching my loved ones and I think that added to my motivation because that attack was cowardly and injured innocent people.

Q. Why the beard?

A. The beard is often a symbol in sports for a rally or playoff success. I wanted to grow the beard to serve as a daily reminder of the victims and of the survivors and to show that we as Americans rally in support of our own when they need help. It symbolizes to me the amazing goodness and selfless service of others who ran to the aid of the injured immediately after the bombing. I will grow my beard for one year as a reminder that we stand with Boston and that the injured are in our thoughts and that no matter where we live, we can rally in support of our brothers and sisters when they need help.

Q. Didn’t the victims already get a lot of money? Why give more?

A. The initial payments have been made from the One Fund Boston. However, there will be years and years of therapy, treatment and healing that will need to take place. Artificial limbs will need to be replaced years down the road. Emotional wounds will need to be treated and that might last a lifetime. I want to make sure that I can do my part to help the survivors and honor those that were killed. That is why I feel that we should continue to help and the One Fund Boston has been set up to address those needs.

Q. Did you know any of the victims personally?

A. I do not know any of the victims personally. I have not lived in Boston. I did live in Hadley, MA for six months while working in Chicopee, MA but I feel drawn to this cause because I feel that we can all relate being a sporting event cheering on our loved ones and friends and to see that get attacked really impacted me. I hope to get to know some of the survivors and victims’ families through the Beard For Boston campaign. I plan to reach out to them and I hope that they can provide us updates on their recovery process.